Wilmo Rock Circus popping back up in November

Wilmo Rock Circus, “a pop-up microfest,” will return to Wilmington for its third year next month. So far, more than 20 musical acts will perform alongside activities like face painting and attractions like carnival art.

Following two successful years, Gable Music Ventures and Planet Ten will host the third annual "Wilmo Rock Circus" on Saturday, Nov. 30. This year's festival will once again feature performances from more than 20 of the region's original bands in order to create the largest indoor festival of the year.

Partially inspired by the growing trend of brands and artists holding "pop-up shops" in major cities like Los Angeles and London where a short engagement retail store or art exhibition "pops up" and disappears quickly, the event was founded in 2011 as an all-ages "pop-up microfest" and staged in a former retail space at the Wilmington Riverfront.

This year, WRC will take over World Café Live at the Queen. The main stage, located in the downstairs theater, will host the "Big Top State," the festival's main attraction. Between sets on the main stage, short sets from acoustic acts on the balcony's Sideshow Stage will be projected downstairs on a big screen, keeping the music going non-stop. Upstairs Live will host the High Wire Stage, featuring some of the area's up-and-coming rock and alternative bands.

The original vision of the festival was to create a non-stop "live music sampler" for local music fans. This year's mission stays true to that vision with a line-up that includes a cross-sampling of genres aimed at introducing music fans to s slew of bands they may have yet to see in person. Acts performing include rockabilly heavy hitters The Bullets, the Philadelphia-based alt rock band The Great SOCIO, 2013 Musikarmaggedon winners Glim Dropper and Newark-based band Universal Funk Order.

World Café Live will serve up boardwalk-style food all night long, as well as beer and drink specials. Carnival art, face painting and more family-friendly entertainment will be announced over the next month.